Proposal for a Common Nomenclature and Risk-Based Approach to Pediatric Eye Health Screening and Examinations: Why, Who, and How?

Although the eye and visual system show structurally and functionally normal development in most infants, some may have pathologies that can result in moderate or severe vision loss. Many of these conditions can be treated if noticed in infancy or early childhood. Amblyopia is a relatively frequent entity and highly treatable, especially when recognized in the first years of life. Therefore, the early detection and timely treatment of all vision problems in infants, particularly amblyopia, is necessary to avoid preventable vision loss. Eye examinations in infants and children differ substantially from the standard adult eye examination. Therefore, the infant/child eye examination often cannot be performed with traditional methods. Describing all the procedures performed only as vision screening or eye examination is inadequate in some cases. Although the term “vision screening” is usually used, “eye health screening” is preferable for more comprehensive procedures. We recommend a new classification of infant and child eye screening and examinations into five distinct groups referred to as follows: eye health screening examination, instrument-based eye health screening, visual acuity screening, comprehensive eye examination, and preterm infant eye examination. We believe that this system can be implemented with little effort and may contribute to reduce preventable vision loss in future generations.